Tag: French Open

  • All-time sporting great Serena Williams to retire from tennis after US Open

    All-time sporting great Serena Williams to retire from tennis after US Open

    The 23-time Grand Slam champion, Serena Williams, stated on Tuesday morning that she will conclude her illustrious tennis career after competing in the US Open starting later this month.

    In her post-match press conference at the Canadian Open, Serena Williams broke the bombshell that she would be retiring, saying she could ‘see the light at the end of the tunnel’.

    At the hard-court competition in Toronto on Monday, the 40-year-old defeated Nuria Parrizas Diaz 6-3 6-4 to win her first singles match in 430 days.

    The grand slam champion was questioned in her news conference following the winning streak-ending victory about what inspires her to continue competing well into her forties.

    Serena acknowledged that her impending retirement is currently her only source of inspiration.

    The shocking admission was the clearest indication yet that Serena will be putting up her racquet soon. Some of the fans were already convinced that she would be retiring in front of her home audience at the US Open later this month.

    Her statements on Monday threw tennis enthusiasts and experts into a frenzy.

  • Rafael Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon semifinal due to abdominal injury

    Rafael Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon semifinal due to abdominal injury

    For the eighth time in his illustrious career, Rafael Nadal defeated Taylor Fritz in a thrilling five-set match to reach the Wimbledon semifinals.

    After winning, the Spaniard will not be competing in the tournament. Before his semifinal matchup with Nick Kyrgios, Nadal has announced his withdrawal from Wimbledon, according to Stuart Fraser of The Times.

    As a result, Kyrgios may receive a victory by default, enabling the Australian to play in his first Grand Slam final.

    Nadal said at a press conference: “Unfortunately as you can imagine I am here because I have to pull out from the tournament.

    “As everyone saw yesterday I have been suffering with a pain in the abdominal and something was not OK there. That is confirmed, I have a tear in the muscle and the communication is too late.

    During the match against Fritz, Nadal was dealing with an abdominal injury. The 36-year-old said that although the discomfort he was feeling on Wednesday almost forced him to leave the game, the injury had first surfaced a week earlier.

    “For a lot of moments,” Nadal said, per ESPN, “I was thinking, ‘Maybe I will not be able to finish the match.”

    Nadal, innately, prevailed in the lengthy, five-set match, which took place over the course of more than four hours, and won 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-4). That guaranteed him the opportunity to face Kyrgios, though Nadal wasn’t certain he would be able to.

    On Thursday, Nadal underwent testing for the injury that grew worse over the course of his protracted struggle with Fritz. He later withdrew from the competition, so clearly they didn’t go well.

    For Nadal, dealing with injuries is nothing new. Due to a rare foot condition called Mueller-Weiss syndrome, which wears down the bones in the feet, he has previously had to miss events or be forced to retire. After suffering a foot injury that hindered him during his French Open victory, he wasn’t even sure if he would participate in Wimbledon.

    However, the abdominal problem is uncharted territory, and Nadal seems to have realised he couldn’t win another match while still experiencing its aftereffects.

    “It’s difficult,” Nadal said of playing through the injury. “Nothing can be fixed when you have a thing like this. That’s it.”

  • Nadal beats Djokovic in a riveting showdown

    Nadal beats Djokovic in a riveting showdown

    Once again, Rafael Nadal proved why he is the best player in French Open history by defeating long-time rival Novak Djokovic in a late-night thriller to advance to the men’s singles semi-finals.

    Nadal, seeking his 14th French Open title, got out to a strong start and held off defending champion Djokovic to win 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4) at Roland Garros.

    After more than four hours on the court, Nadal won at 1:15am local time. On Friday, the 21-time Grand Slam winner will meet third seed Alexander Zverev. After surviving a comeback by teenage phenom Carlos Alcaraz earlier on Tuesday, Germany’s Zverev, 25, advanced to the semi-finals for the second year in a row.

    “To win against Novak there is only one way: to play your best from the first point to the last,” said 35-year-old Nadal, who thanked the Paris crowd for showing their “love”.

    “This is one of those magic nights for me.”

    Fifth seed Nadal avenged his semi-final loss to Djokovic last year and improved his Roland Garros clay record to 110 wins in 113 matches.

    The pair’s rivalry is the longest durable in men’s tennis, with Nadal narrowing the deficit to 30-29 in the head-to-head after winning their 59th meeting.

    “Nadal demonstrated why he is a great champion by remaining psychologically strong throughout the match. Without a doubt, he is deserving of it “Djokovic stated.

  • ‘Huge waves of anxiety,’ Naomi Osaka withdraws from French Open

    ‘Huge waves of anxiety,’ Naomi Osaka withdraws from French Open

    Japanese tennis ace Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the French Open due to “huge waves of anxiety.”

    Osaka announced her withdrawal from Roland Garros a day after she was fined $15,000 by the French Open and warned that she could face expulsion from the tournament, following her decision not to speak with the press during the tournament.

    Osaka, 23, who won her first match against Patricia Maria Tig, was scheduled to face Ana Bogdan in the second round. She released a statement last Wednesday stating her intention to skip her media obligations during Roland Garros because of the affect of interacting with the press on her mental health.

    “This isn’t a situation I ever imagined or intended when I posted a few days ago,” Osaka wrote on social media, “I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris.”

    “I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer. More importantly, I would never trivialise mental health or use the term lightly.”

    In her original statement, Osaka said she expected to be fined. The French Tennis Federation (FFT) President Gilles Moretton, has stated that his organisation would penalise Osaka, after which she was fined $15,000.

    The organisation has not given an official response to the fine, despite Osaka’s statement, explaining her anxiety. Their heavy-handed approach to Osaka has been criticised as a disproportionate response by many, saying that Osaka should not be penalised for putting her mental health first. The attention Osaka received after her statement has been compounded by the announcement of her fine and possible default.

    In her withdrawal statement, the four-time grand slam champion said she has suffered from “long bouts of depression” since the 2018 US Open final. Osaka defeated Serena Williams then to win her first grand slam title in a controversial match that similarly led to significant attention and queries from the media.

    “Anyone that knows me knows I’m introverted, and anyone that has seen me at the tournaments will notice that I’m often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety,” Osaka wrote.

    Osaka explained in her statement, saying she suffers “huge waves of anxiety” before speaking with the media. “Here in Paris, I was already feeling vulnerable and anxious so I thought it was better to exercise self‑care and skip the press conferences. I announced it preemptively because I do feel like the rules are quite outdated in parts and I wanted to highlight that,” she wrote.

    “I’ll see you when I see you,” concluded Naomi.

    Osaka has received support from numerous public figures since her announcement.